Author Notes:When I was visiting my mother in Florida, she whipped up a batch of these gingered beet pickles every couple of days, and served them with sandwiches at lunch, and on burger night. They come from Matt Lee and Ted Lee's latest book The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern. —Amanda Hesser

1 1/4
pounds beets, peeled and very thinly sliced (using a mandoline, if you have one)

Pour 1 cup water into a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, and add the ginger, vinegar, salt, and sugar. When the brine simmers, add the beets, and when it returns to a simmer, continue to cook for 4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, cover loosely, and let cool to room temperature. Transfer to a quart-size glass container with a lid, and seal tightly. Chill further in the refrigerator for 1 hour or until ready to serve. The pickles will keep in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks.

I made a gingered beet pickle that was similar to this, using white wine vinegar (much less harsh than distilled white) and golden beets. They're spectacularly beautiful, and so, so tasty. I roasted the beets first. I'll have to make a batch this way. The ginger sort of recedes but remains delicately perceptible. ;o)

I am a big fan of pickled beets of all sorts. The picture shows the beets in a weck container. Was it sealed with a canning method or did you use the jar because it looks good? (the rubber sealer on weck jars is useless unless processed)

This is a quick pickle method, not a canning process. The weck jars are used because they're pretty! Also, pickled beets are one of my favorite pickles. Especially with hard boiled eggs and corned beef.

I've been making WinnieAb's recipe, with slight variation depending on what I have on hand: http://www.food52.com/recipes...It is delicious on its own, but I love the contrasting punch of flavor that these gingered beet pickles add.

Hi AJ! It is so good -- just adding the comment today made me want to have it tonight for dinner. It's also not a far cry from the typical pickled veggies that might accompany a traditional meal of ochazuke.

I just made these with the last spring beets I pulled today. Wonderfully crisp and tasty. One little remark: when I handle raw beets a lot, like here slicing them with a mandoline, I always wear disposable gloves. There are so many situations where I cannot avoid getting my hands really dirty in the garden, so in the kitchen I do everything to make sure you cannot tell from my hands the next day what I have been cooking... - The beet greens toughened in the summer heat so I don't have any to try the other recipe right now but I definitely will in the fall.

I made this last night and took them to work to share. They were a huge hit! Since it made 2 jars, I gave one to a friend to share with her family (since it says they will only last 2 weeks in the fridge). I generally don't like pickled beets that you find on salad bars because of the texture and taste but these are awesome! My guy doesn't usually like beets so we'll see if he's a convert :) He never used to like beet greens either and he loved those!

Not a stupid question! The 4 minutes plus pickling will cook the beets enough. They should be a little crisp. But make sure you slice them thinly. If they're thicker than 1/8-inch, you might want to simmer for 5 or 6 minutes.

I love lovage,too. For pickled things my grandmother used to use a plant that is a very close relative to the lovage, but is slightly different. The leaves are slightly larger (shaped exactly the same) and the stems are thicker (still shaped the same and still have that hollow structure). My grandmother did not speak english so I have been trying to figure out what the name of that plant might be. Any clue?

To die for. Simply to die for. I don't usually buy or cook beets in the summer (as I typically eat them all winter), but I'm making an exception for these. I adore pickles of all kinds, and these sound positively divine. ;o)